Cost of an Overdraft Habit Calculator

This calculator adds up the yearly cost of regularly slipping into overdraft in New Zealand, combining the interest on the overdrawn balance with the account and facility fees you pay across the months you spend in the red. Lots of people drift into a pattern of starting each pay cycle a little overdrawn, clearing it on payday, then dipping back in, and because each individual occurrence feels minor it is easy to miss how much the habit costs over a full year. Overdraft interest in New Zealand is often in the high teens to low twenties as an annual rate, charged on the amount you are overdrawn for the days you are overdrawn, and on top of that many accounts carry a monthly or annual fee for having the facility at all. You enter the average amount you are typically overdrawn, the overdraft interest rate, any monthly facility fee, and how many months a year you are in overdraft, and the calculator returns the total annual cost split into interest and fees. Seeing the yearly figure usually puts the habit in perspective and shows how worthwhile even a small savings buffer would be. Unarranged overdrafts cost more again, so treat this as a careful lower estimate.

Interest is charged on the average overdrawn balance for the months you are in the red. Unarranged overdrafts cost more. Estimate only.